How Disney Affect Children Negatively (Essay Sample)

How Disney Affect Children Negatively
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How Disney Affect Children Negatively
Introduction
This research paper focuses on the influences that come along with the Disney on children who follow their program. There has been a series of debates about the media and effects on children. This has evoked researchers who have worked tirelessly with the aims of finding out whether or not Disney affects children in any way whatsoever. This paper will analyze the negative effects on children who are watching its films, movies and video games.
The Disney Company is an American based Multinational Corporation and a mass media company. Its headquarter is based in California’s Walt Disney studios. Its history dates back in 1923 when the Disney brothers founded the company. Over the years of its operation, it has been best known for its film studio products. Additionally, Disney has advanced with time. It owns and operates other television channels and networks such as ABC broadcast television network, ESPN, Disney Channel amongst others. Apart from its theatre divisions, Disney does music publishing as well as merchandising.
Disney is a company that has gained popularity, especially in America, where it is the popular cultural institution. Its content ranges from films, movies and video games, especially for children. Due to the wider coverage by Disney, there is a need to examine if it offers the best to the targeted consumers. A larger percentage of the public considers Disney as a friendly media corporation, although there are criticisms following it. Much criticism of Disney concerns the influence of its content to the children who are frequent guests to the channel (Castillo, 2006)
Children who watch Disney programs are negatively affected as compared to those who do not watch or watch other channels (Castillo, 2006). Different authors have approached the issue in different ways. However, their arguments revolve around exposure to violence, psychology, as well as physical. In this paper, I will analyze in depth how Disney has affected children negatively, ranging from their habits, attitude and the general knowledge they gain from watching. Additionally, this research paper will cover how the Disney have impacted kids on their mindset and how they perceive things they watch. I will also cover on how the Disney has affected the psychology of those kids. Relevant books and articles on the topic are paramount, and thus I will refer to.
First, the Disney, through their movies has imparted little girls those who watch a negative mindset concerning themselves (Castillo, 2006). Researchers have shown that girls who have watched Disney tend to think that it is expected of them to be weak and complacent whenever they want to achieve any success in their lives (Olfman, 2008). This is attributed to the kind of morals imparted to them by the movies shown in Disney. The most identified movie that exemplifies this kind is the Sleeping Beauty. In this movie, a female character Aurora, though viewed as a perfect woman, is described as extremely overmodest. In almost all her appearances in the movie, she seldom takes a proactive position. In instances where a female character is a proactive, as in the case of Ariel in The Little Mermaid, they are so, following their pugnancy that everyone else is pinned down (Dawn, Descartes, & Collier-Meek, 2011).
Disney movies have also negatively affected child psychology and made them view thing differently in the society. For instance, most children who follow Disney movies believe that ugliness is immoral (Olfman, 2008). In real life, they are not to be blamed for such a mindset because it is among the morals they get from the movies. Most of the Disney movies depict the primary antagonist as physically unattractive. This, in turn, leaves children with no option than to attribute the character trait with evil. Moreover, it is female characters in most movies that have been depicted to bear these bad qualities (Disney villain characteristics) (Olfman, 2008). As noted in the movie the little mermaid, Ursula is a female character who is pictured as fat lady, a quality associated with unattractiveness. Other female characters who picture other villain characteristics include the older woman in Snow White, who have been portrayed as old as well as the ugly stepsisters who are viewed as hideously ugly in the movie Cinderella. In real life, children are affected in one way or another by morals they get from these movies. Children who have some of the characters depicted negatively in movies shy off from their friends and the public. A fat girl, for example, will have a low self esteem in the public because of fear of what others may think concerning their physical outlooks. In this way, Disney has tampered with child psychology (Castillo, 2006).
Disney has also corrupted children’s minds’ through the content they play ranging from video games to movies (Castillo, 2006). Most children have believed that being in a social status in life is the best thing it can happen to anyone who is successful in life. In most of their movies, Disney paints their heroes and villains in high social hierarchy as compared to other characters in that movie. Cinderella, for example, is a Disney movie whose plot unfolds around a woman from a terrible background who manages to be married to a wealthy man. In the story, it is noted that her success is strongly attributed to her attractiveness in comparison to her stepsisters. This has also had adverse effects to those children who view themselves as ugly since they fear their fate. They imagine that, if the stepsisters were left out on grounds of beauty, then they may also fall victims (Castillo, 2006).
As compared to other children's movie, the characters in Disney movies are more developed. It is because of this reason that those who watch become emotionally bonded to the story as well, as the characters. However, Disney has been accused of over portraying of childhood abuse in children's movies. This was noted with a lot of concern since there were movies which promoted violent scenes. This affects mostly very young children (Castillo, 2006). For instance, in the movie Pinocchio, a scene is created when Walt Disney resembles his childhood experience of being beaten by the father. In another instance, a movie Bambi that was adapted from a novel reflects an abuse seen when people are unmercifully hunted and killed by the Nazis troops.
The Disney has negatively affected the way children view death in the society. Most young children have no concept of death or how to deal with it. In many Disney films the evil character dies or is killed in the film. They way the deaths are depicted may have a negative impact on how children view death later on in life. Dvoskin, Skeem, Novaco, and Douglas, (2012) discuss how Disney films show death. "In other cases, there is an acknowledgment of death, but it is not grieved, as in Bambi. In contrast, in The Lion King, death is acknowledged and the young character grieves and displays a gamut of typical grieving emotions ranging from self-blame and anger to profound sadness" (Dvoskin, Skeem, Novaco & Douglas, 2012). The Lion King seems like it portrays death in a much more realistic way than movies, such as Bambi does. Children need to see a realistic way that people deal with death instead of seeing characters not acknowledge death at all. Death is not the only thing that a Disney film sometimes portrays in a negative light. It was also found that Disney films also portray older people in a negative way as well (Dvoskin, Skeem, Novaco & Douglas, 2012).
Additionally, Disney teaches every child watching it indirectly to be racial discriminators. This might seem an ambiguous and blatant massage, but it is a serious issue in this context (Sammond, 2005). As seen in the film Dumbo released in 1941, the crows are dressed in different attires and that they speak different languages. The movie was released during those times when racism against African Americans was acceptable. In the movie, the language spoken by the crowns is different as well as the attire of the birds is different. It was realized that the film was a clear mock to the African Americans. It is also noted that the support characters are present only to boost the white protagonist and to add on comedic value amongst the audience. Racism is a vice a child should not grow with it. A child should be taught to appreciate and live along any person despite their race, color or places they originate. Due to these influences by Disney’s films, a person may grow with a racial oriented mind and definitely making a character that does not fit in the society (Dawn, Descartes, & Collier-Meek, 2011).
The Disney film The Lion King is a great example depicting how females are seen as subordinate to males. Giroux states, "All of the rulers of the kingdom are men, reinforcing the assumption that independence and leadership are tied to patriarchal entitlement and high social standing" (Sammond, 2005). This is the case for most Disney films that the male characters have power over the female characters. The female characters are depicted as weak and dependent on the male characters. This can give young girls the wrong idea of what type of roles they should take on. If they keep seeing female characters being portrayed as weak and dependent on males, they may think that they should be the same way. However, not all of the female characters in these movies are portrayed the same way.
Disney has imparted children a notion on controversial issues. Throughout their movies, it has been realized that Disney incorporates the use of subtle themes of Satanism in their movies which leads to creation of satanic imagery (Sammond, 2005). A good example is the movie Bea...